[mattsz]

So after storing it for 4 months, I finally got my bike on the road yesterday - mostly.  Here's what I found:

I changed the fuel line - it really sucked.  Getting the line over the injector end was extremely difficult, and I just couldn't my fingers or any kind of tools anywhere near enough get hold of it to slide it all the way into place.  But it's done.  Anybody have any suggestions for the future?

I changed my "dash" lights to LEDs; they were all working when I installed them into their respective positions, but when I finally fired everything up, I find that the MIL light doesn't light at all.  Head-scratching and wire-tracing to follow…

I sorely regret treating my bike with ACF-50 last fall.  What a bloody awful mess.  I couldn't do anything with the wiring (which included replacing the battery cable ends and re-leading the positive wire), or the fuel line, or fix my seat installation position, without constantly coating my hands with the stuff.  Over the winter, it's set into a thick almost grease-like layer that shows clear signs of having caught and held onto winter dirt brought into the garage by the car.  I know I'll never get it cleaned away completely, and I'm sure that it's dirt-holding abilities will reveal themselves soon enough.  Also, I thought I'd be smart and wrap the battery cables with a kind of stretchy rubber-like electrical tape (made by 3-M) that sticks to itself really well, as an additional protection against the elements and against chafing - only it turns out ACF-50 eats it, and as I was working with finding the best lead for the wires (which I had to change since I replaced the "Z"-shaped cable ends), the tape started dissolving into a black sticky mess all over my hands, and anything else it touched.  And, it's not so easy to remove from whatever you put it on!  Imagine: an oil product recommended for protecting, among other things, electrical connections, reacting so badly with a well-known brand-named product recommended for insulating electrical connections!  And, no matter how carefully I think I've cleaned the ACF-50 off, there was plenty left on the hot spots to stink and smoke once I warmed the bike up.  There was some on the exhaust pipe beneath the heat shield, I guess - I thought it was going to burst into flames!  Never again.

Still, the bike started right up, the decompressor providing its usual "seems a little too much" clatter, and despite the missing trouble light, and minimal front brakes (stray ACF-50, the effects of which wore off quickly), I spun it around the block.  It's good to be riding again!

[High On Octane]

Maybe buy a couple cans of Gunk engine degreaser, head on down to the car wash, spray the bike down with the engine degreaser and then hose it off with the pressure washer?  Sounds like an awful mess.  At least you were able to get out for a ride.

Scottie

[motorat]

i have had good luck with s100 bike cleaner.
spray on wait a minute wash it off.

[gashousegorilla]

So after storing it for 4 months, I finally got my bike on the road yesterday - mostly.  Here's what I found:

I changed the fuel line - it really sucked.  Getting the line over the injector end was extremely difficult, and I just couldn't my fingers or any kind of tools anywhere near enough get hold of it to slide it all the way into place.  But it's done.  Anybody have any suggestions for the future?

I changed my "dash" lights to LEDs; they were all working when I installed them into their respective positions, but when I finally fired everything up, I find that the MIL light doesn't light at all.  Head-scratching and wire-tracing to follow…

I sorely regret treating my bike with ACF-50 last fall.  What a bloody awful mess.  I couldn't do anything with the wiring (which included replacing the battery cable ends and re-leading the positive wire), or the fuel line, or fix my seat installation position, without constantly coating my hands with the stuff.  Over the winter, it's set into a thick almost grease-like layer that shows clear signs of having caught and held onto winter dirt brought into the garage by the car.  I know I'll never get it cleaned away completely, and I'm sure that it's dirt-holding abilities will reveal themselves soon enough.  Also, I thought I'd be smart and wrap the battery cables with a kind of stretchy rubber-like electrical tape (made by 3-M) that sticks to itself really well, as an additional protection against the elements and against chafing - only it turns out ACF-50 eats it, and as I was working with finding the best lead for the wires (which I had to change since I replaced the "Z"-shaped cable ends), the tape started dissolving into a black sticky mess all over my hands, and anything else it touched.  And, it's not so easy to remove from whatever you put it on!  Imagine: an oil product recommended for protecting, among other things, electrical connections, reacting so badly with a well-known brand-named product recommended for insulating electrical connections!  And, no matter how carefully I think I've cleaned the ACF-50 off, there was plenty left on the hot spots to stink and smoke once I warmed the bike up.  There was some on the exhaust pipe beneath the heat shield, I guess - I thought it was going to burst into flames!  Never again.

Still, the bike started right up, the decompressor providing its usual "seems a little too much" clatter, and despite the missing trouble light, and minimal front brakes (stray ACF-50, the effects of which wore off quickly), I spun it around the block.  It's good to be riding again!

   I would GET rid of that LED for the Mil light and use the stock one. That light is connected to the ECU.   Don't know what the effects would be using a light illuminated diode...............

  Wash the bike down with something like Dawn dish detergent and hose it off good.... Then dry everything off with a Leaf blower, if you have one. Finished off with a Towel.

   That rubbery Electrical tape is for insulating "Bug" connectors on the Electric Service connection to your house....... It's designed to be soft so it can be pulled tight.

 And removing the seat, and taking out the rear bolt and loosening the front one, on your rear top motor mount should make things easier, for the fuel line at the injector.

[Ducati Scotty]

If you do use Dawn (and I do) wax the bike after.  Dish detergents are awesome at getting grime off paint but they also strip any wax or other protectives along with it.

Scott

[barenekd]

Your not supposed to use the whole can of ACF50 when you apply it. Just a light coating is really quite adequate.
I used an LED in my MIL light. Worked fine.
Bare

[mattsz]

You may recall, Bare, my description of using it when I put it on.  There was no way a light coating was going to happen from that can.  It came out thick and somewhat lumpy.  I was trying to get everything covered with just a light coating, honest I was, but before I knew it, the can was gone.  Maybe there was something wrong with my can; I couldn't figure out why anyone would call it "fogging" oil...

re. the MIL light... it doesn't come on when I turn the bike on and the fuel pump primes.  But, when I turn the kill switch, or the key, off before the prime is complete, the equivalent of shutting it off again before the light would normally go out, the light flickers ever-so-quickly on and off one time as the power is killed.  As I recall, those B7 LEDs are polarity dependent, unlike all the B9s, although I thought I checked them.  I wonder if it's reversed?  I think I'll switch back to the incandescent for an easy test...

[gremlin]

Glad to hear you are back in the wind.

Its still a bit hazardous here in Minneapolis, but, I'll be riding soon ....  It's that time ..........

[mattsz]

Thanks Gremlin, and all!  So far it's just been a couple times around the block.  I was going to ride to work the next day, but I woke up to 27F degrees with a snow flurry forecast for the afternoon (which proved accurate), and I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  At least I can honestly say I was on the road by April Fools Day!

Bare - I'm learning as I go, and learning from my mistakes, of which I seem to be making plenty...  .  One of these days I'm going to write up a thread, "for newbies by a newbie"...  things us new guys learn where experienced guys might say, "I thought that would go without saying" - or something like that...

For example, if you're fogging your bike with ACF-50, and you find you've used up half a can on half your bike, might as well stop and sort it out because something is wrong...

[mattsz]

Well, the fine print on the cans of degreaser scared me off - lots of talk about damage to painted surfaces, etc.

I spent an hour-and-a-half with a big bunch of paper towels to wipe as much of the gunk off as I could, and I'll follow it by a thorough wash with Dawn or some other such...

[barenekd]

I found the best cleaner is one that Honda used to sell. It was a cleaner/polisher. It wasn't real heavy duty stuff like Gunk, but it did a very decent job on most grime.
Honda quit selling it several years ago and I really missed it. However, it has returned. Whitehorse Press (www.whitehorsepress.com) in New Hampster is selling it again under a new name, Original Bike Spirits. Still works great. My problems with most degreasers is that a lot of them tend to stain aluminum and it's a pain to get them polished out.
Bare

[barenekd]

You may recall, Bare, my description of using it when I put it on.  There was no way a light coating was going to happen from that can.  It came out thick and somewhat lumpy.

Yeah, there must have been something wrong with your can. Mine have had a pretty fine mist. It was real easy to spray a fine coat on that didn't run all over the floor. The can will actually last quite awhile.
Bare

[Arizoni]

I've used Windex Multi-Task to clean the chain lube spots off of my chrome silencer and found it works very well.
It does say it's not for use on wood with varnish coatings and I haven't tried it on any of my bikes painted surfaces but it might work without damaging the paint.

A strong dish washing detergent  diluted with some water is probably the safest thing to use on the painted surfaces.

[mattsz]

Washed the bike with a strong Dawn mix - came out nicely, except for a few nooks and crannies where the oil is still pooling... but I can hit them as I find them.

Re-replaced the MIL light with the original incandescant, without having to remove the housing or speedo.  It lights as it's supposed to.  I'll leave it for now, as it normally stays off and won't tax the charging system.  I'm guessing that the polarity of the socket is reversed.  The B7 LED bulbs came in a bag with a label that says they're AC/DC, but they're not (all the B9's were).  The "park" light and the low fuel light work...

[wildbill]

Down under our winter is pretty close to a start up. Overnight temps for the past week sit around a chilly 6 degrees Celsius.

[Royalista]

uh, up here -northern hemisphere- 6° Celsius as well.
At least the nasty polar winds have subsided seriously, which makes the chill factor closer to the six. It got about time too. Past Easter and so...

Anyway, thanks for taking over from us.
Stay warm! 

[High On Octane]

We got about 6" in Denver today but it's supposed to be back in the 70's this weekend. 

Scottie

[Blairio]

The thing with dishwashing liquid is that it contains salt - which acts as a thickener, and also has a scouring function. It gets rid of wax, but it is also pretty aggressive on plated surfaces.  Scottoiler 365 is a spray you apply to the bike after you have washed it - especially in winter.  It neutralises any salts it comes into contact with. 

[Craig McClure]

IF you use GUNK, read the fine print on the label. There is only one GUNK product that will not cause corosion on aluminum. Some GUNK will trash your polished aluminum side cases. I have found diluted purple power (a detergent) cuts grease better- BUT full strength can attack paint(Enfield engine crankcase & cylinder is painted).
  I assume the stuff Matt sprayed on his bike is similar to WD40. I have been a machinery guy most of my 67 years, & learned to shun WD40 shortly after it was introduced on the market. It WILL dry on the thing you want to protect & make a sticky mess, it is not even an acceptable penetrating oil. I hope Matt gets the stuff off his exhaust before it bakes into a brown coating that is hard to remove. "THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT THE UNINTENDED EFFECTS OF ANY CHEMICAL YOU USE, AT WORK OR PLAY" You can quote me on this.   Cheers,Craig

[Craig McClure]

I forgot to mention, WAL MART sells a very nice bike cover to fit your Enfields. Best deal anywhere at about $25.. Seen same cover elsewhere for over $50.  Keeps dust & stuff away.  I like mine!

[High On Octane]

I forgot to mention, WAL MART sells a very nice bike cover to fit your Enfields. Best deal anywhere at about $25.. Seen same cover elsewhere for over $50.  Keeps dust & stuff away.  I like mine!

Advance Auto Parts sells a nice motorcycle cover for $30.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_easy-fit-motorcycle-cover-fits-up-to-1500cc-%28grey-and-black%29-autocraft_1060026-p?searchTerm=motorcycle+covers


Scottie

[Bulletman]

I've used Windex Multi-Task to clean the chain lube spots off of my chrome silencer and found it works very well.
It does say it's not for use on wood with varnish coatings and I haven't tried it on any of my bikes painted surfaces but it might work without damaging the paint.

A strong dish washing detergent  diluted with some water is probably the safest thing to use on the painted surfaces.

+1 Windex works like a charm

[REdmonton]

Not up here yet. This is a picture of the snow in my front yard today. I'm hoping to get on the bike within the next couple of weeks.

[GreenMachine]

RE dmonton:  Snow..No thank you..Cut the grass twice already and the redbuds, dogwoods are in full bloom...Don't forget to take down those christmas lights...

[gremlin]

Not up here yet. This is a picture of the snow in my front yard today. I'm hoping to get on the bike within the next couple of weeks.

I feel your pain.  Here in MinneSNOWda we are calling it:
"2013, the winter that wouldn't die"

[barenekd]

I assume the stuff Matt sprayed on his bike is similar to WD40. I have been a machinery guy most of my 67 years, & learned to shun WD40 shortly after it was introduced on the market.

Boy, what a bash that was ACF50 is a very good corrosion fighter. To compare it to WD-40 is blasphemy! The only thing that can compare to WD-40 is a can of kerosene (Paraffin to our across the seas buddies).
ACF 50 is approved by the FAA as a corrosion fighter. See the link below for the review of it.
I've used it on two of my bikes and customer airplanes and it has done a great job. I don't know what happened to the stuff Matt had, but it certainly doesn't mirror my results.
http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/404/15868/Motorcycle-Article/ACF-50-Corrosion-Preventative-Review.aspx?WT.i_e_dcsvid=1034574548

Bare

[no bs]

don't mean to gloat, but here in sunny california i ride if it's not raining(or below 30 degrees F). i feel sorry for all you extreme cold weather guys. my brother lives in duluth, and he was telling me what a joy the "spring" has been so far. of course, living in calif has it's drawbacks too!

[gremlin]

...........living in calif has it's drawbacks too!

skin cancer from the perpetual sun-tan..?..

[no bs]

no, i'm talking about our wonderful jerry brown. we like to recycle here. really, the best thing he ever did was linda rondsat.

[gremlin]

no, i'm talking about our wonderful jerry brown. we like to recycle here. really, the best thing he ever did was linda rondsat.

other forgetable California Governers:   Ronnie & the Govenator

[mattsz]

Gremlin - you may wanna forget 'em, but ...